Hailing from Buffalo, N.Y. Lawrence Block would attend and fail to graduate from Yellow Spring’s Antioch college, having come to agree with the school authorities that he would be happier elsewhere. His first foray into the literary world found Lawrence pseudonymously testing the waters of porn, along with fellow apprentice Donald E. Westlake, the pair purposing in midcentury erotica sometime in the 1950s.

The name Lawrence Block wouldn’t appear in print until 1958, following the publication of Block’s short story ??You Can’t Lose’. Eventually gaining momentum with ??Mona,’ published in 1961 under his name, reissued repeatedly over the years, once even titled ??Sweet Slow death’, Lawrence’s current repertoire of novels, exceeding the 50 book mark, is only surpassed by the more than 100 short stories he has availed to his myriads of fans during decades of hard work.

Married to Lynne Block with whom he has spent most of his life travelling, and through whom he has born two children, Amy Reichel and Jill Block, as well as Alison Pouliot from a previous marriage, it is probably because of his long term residency in New York that so many of Lawrence Block’s fictional stories have been set within the streets of the city.

Best known for a select few highly entertaining and diverse characters, from Evan Tanner to Mathew Scudder, Lawrence has brought his literary skills to the world under many a name, some of his better known pseudonyms including Lesley Evans, Jill Emerson, Anne Campbell Clark and John Warren Wells.

Making appearances in a variety of magazines, from The New York Times to Cosmopolitan, RedBook, GQ and even PlayBoy, Lawrence Block has endeavored to encourage the writing field through a myriad of arenas, not only availing a series of books specifically aimed towards writers but also running an instructional column in Writer’s Digest for more than a decade, his literary accomplishments expanding into television and even film.

+Awards

Lawrence block has enjoyed the title of Grand master of Mystery Writers of America for two decades, also acquiring the position of president for Private Eye writers of America and MWA. Winning the Edgar and Shamus prize four times, a Lifetime Achievement award from Private Eye Writers of America, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon award, Lawrence has also had the privilege of accepting the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement prize from Mystery Ink, a magazine; the Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement from the Crime Writers Association and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derriger Lifetime Achievement prize for short stories.

The French have also imputed to Lawrence Block the title of Grand Maitre du Roman Noir. Appearing as the guest of honor at book festivals in various nations from Taiwan to Australia, Spain and even New Zealand, Lawrence Block can boast of more awards and prizes earned in his half decade old career than those of several dozen well known writers put together, a giant in the writing arena and commanding respect in the many nations of the world. And even with this level of elevation, those closest to the author have been known to describe his personality as warm, kind, modest and quite humble.

+ Lawrence’s success, the popularity of his books have almost always relied upon the characters he creates, crafted to not only drive their various stories but to engage and entertain the readers, usually achieving victory in these arenas and positively impact their various stories

Though even considering the buzz surrounding the likes of John Paul Keller, Chris Harrison and Evan Michael Tanner, two names stand apart within Lawrence’s web of stories, namely:

-Mathew Scudder- introduced in 1976’s ??The sins of the Fathers’, Mathew’s alcoholic ex cop, now unlicensed private investigator is Lawrence Block’s most famous character. Fighting alcoholism and the various demons of his past, the intrigue behind his character driven by his ever evolving situations, each book thrusting the PI into one diverse situation after another, each novel taking great steps to stand apart from Mathew’s previous outing.

Lawrence Block has, on occasion, vaguely admitted to the fact that facets of Mathew’s characters, especially the alcoholism, might just mirror his own life and past mistakes.

-Bernie Rhodenbarr

Only second to Mathew in fame, Lawrence’s gentleman burglar couldn’t be further from Mathew Scudder, not only ageless in his various outings but usually partaking in a far lighter story, his world somewhat wittier and more sophisticated that Mathew’s dingy existence.

Even while maintaining a static existence, Bernie has managed to endear himself to many a Lawrence Block fan, his charm and wit allowing novels like ‘The Burglar who counted the spoons’ to entertain purely through the energizing factor that is Bernie Rhodenbarr.

+Important as Mathew Scudder and Bernie might be, it would be inaccurate to impute the author’s success solely to the existence of these characters, with each Lawrence Block novel striving to stand alone as a masterpiece in its own right.

One need only scrutinize the first book in Lawrence’s profile, that title that introduced him to the world. The Sins of the Fathers introduced Mathew Scudder as an alcoholic PI, dragged into a world of perversion and corruption following a plea from a client to solve the murder of a young hooker.

The prime suspect having met a fatal end, it comes down to Scudder to maneuver through a web of lies and secrecy to reveal to the populace of Greenwich the sins hidden beneath a peaceful veneer.

Even while bringing the enigmatic Mathew Scudder to life, The Sins of The Fathers proved a hit among the vast portion of readers that first encountered Lawrence Block, not only writing a detective that broke the mold, less hardboiled and more philosophical, but presenting a truly intriguing case interspersed with truly shocking twists and revelations.

So engaging was this first true Lawrence Block detective novel that most readers were astonished by the quality of ??Time to Murder and Create’ a detective story that not only incorporated the best elements of ??The Sins of the Fathers’ but augmented them, this time following Mathew Scudder as he attempted to solve the death of his friend Jake The Spinner, a former informer turned blackmailer, whom too many people would have liked to murder.

Pressured by the advent of a sinister threat emerging from his meddling into Jake’s affairs and a host of wealthy and powerful opponents, ??Time to Murder and create’ utilizes Block’s crisp prose to tell a story that not only avails hard hitting plots but evolves the Scudder character, driving the PI into even more intriguing territory.

With projects like ??8 Million ways to Die’ finally jumping to film in 1986, the Wong Kar-wai directed, Norah Jones acted ??My Blueberry nights’ screenplay he wrote in 2007, and ??A Walk Among the Tombstones’ in the process of being adapted into a movie, to be released in 2014, with Liam Neeson playing the role of Mathew Scudder, Lawrence Block has more than cemented his reputation as a literary genius within the Mystery novel genre.

Master of the standalone thriller genre, Shari Lapena, is back. Author of The Couple Next Door and A Stranger in the House, An Unwanted Guest is the latest novel by Shari. It takes place in a cozy mountain lodge in Winter where various people are staying for a romantic getaway. A blizzard cuts off the power and any contact with the outside world so everyone settles in for the long haul. Then a guest dies. And another. Knowing Shari's other books, this should be one we'll be reading late into the night. For more details or to pre-order, visit our Shari Lapena page.

Recommendations

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Featured Series

Our book series of the month is the Will Robie Series by David Baldacci. If you like Mitch Rapp, Jack Reacher, Jason Bourne etc then you'll love the Will Robie series. These are page turners to the max too and Baldacci knows how to keep you going all night long!

Featured Author

Bill Wenham is the author of various book series including The Inspector Charrington Mysteries and the Inspector Bruce Mysteries. He just started writing in his 80s to follow a life long dream. It’s an amazing story and the books he has written are pretty great too – his passion really shines through. Read more about Bills books.

Did You Know…

Much of Beverly Lewis' writing focuses on the Anabaptist heritage an the Old Order Amish. This is because her maternal grandmother was born into an old order Mennonite Church, which interested Beverly in her own heritage.